The city owes a debt of gratitude to those individuals and institutions which have followed through with the Military Banner Program honoring Fillmore’s men and women presently serving our country. Thanks to the work of Fillmore School Board member Virginia de la Piedra, with the City of Fillmore, Fillmore Unified School Board, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9637 and the Fillmore Sunrise Rotary, we can appreciate the new banners displayed from light posts on Central Avenue. This is a bold statement of the pride the residents of Fillmore have in our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guard service men and women.
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The Gazette also wishes to extend its thanks to our departing City Management Analyst, Steve McClary, for his many years of diligent work. Steve has accepted employment with the City of Ojai as Assistant City Manager. He was also the Gazette’s editor, with the paper for about four years, before, during, and after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. His assistance was critical to the survival of the newspaper after the office was destroyed and production had to be divided into several locations. He is, among other things, a great photographer and writer, and has been one of the best communicators the city has ever had. As a natural multi-tasker, Steve handled many different jobs for the city under various titles with professional enthusiasm.
Although always quietly loyal, Steve, IN MY OPINION, is the most recent member of Fillmore’s City staff to flee the arrogant foolishness, and radical agenda, of the two newest members of the Fillmore City Council. Actually, the council problem can be best understood as the culmination of several years of careful, group planning to take over city government. The newly hatched council triumvirate (Jamey Brooks, Gayle Washburn, and Patti Walker) incubated by former (and failed) Mayor, Gary Creagle, is succeeding beyond its wildest dreams. The exodus of targeted staff is well under way. The plan? The plan was to create such utter frustration among the most experienced and important staff members that they could no longer bear to work with the triumvirate.
Well the plan is destroying confident management at the highest levels of Fillmore’s city government. This arrogant triumvirate has become so unreasonable and obnoxious that no one wants to have anything to do with them, no one except their followers.
As this is a situation that has been deliberately created – the consequences will fall on the heads of the big three. Let’s see what happens to the business park, the water treatment plant, and other projects financially critical to the welfare of this city.
I predict a recall movement within a year - after this group has cleaned-out all competent hi-level members of city management and replaced them with friends and political associates.
So, thanks again Steve for all those good years with the Gazette and the City of Fillmore. I’m sure you are headed for a more enlightened environment in Ojai. Our loss, their gain.